Melanie
by GermanCSI
Summary: This is an alternative story to what has happened to Melanie in Magic by Rina Meunier. She is a girl form our time and transported to the Enterprise through a wormhole. There she finds familiar and very strange people.
1. Chapter 1

**This is an alternative beginning to the story of Melanie on the Enterprise. She is a character used in "Magic" from Rina Meunier, but she's my character. For backstory; Melanie was attending a boarding school in Germany and she disappeared in her time when she was in the cellar of the school at the eve of her last day of school in year 11.**

Everything was dark. The floor underneath Melanie was very hard to determine but at the moment she didn't really care. She was lying on her stomach and her bag was still in her hand. After a few minutes her surroundings stopped spinning. She got up and tried to reach a wall and after two slow steps her fingers touched a surface. When she used her other hand she noticed that there were several panels. One of them was elastic, obviously a button. She pushed it and the light in the room went on. It stung in her eyes like needles and she tossed her arms in front of her face.

"Ahh", she screamed and the sound bounced off the walls. It made her think of a very huge room. She slowly opened her eyes and indeed the room was huge. It was more like a hall with a lot of barrels stacked up against the wall. There were some spots in regular distance from each other that looked like doors and windows. Next to each spot were the same elastic buttons like the light switch. She pushed one of these buttons and the two small doors slid apart. Behind them was a narrow gangway and a few meters farther another small door. Suddenly she could hear a voice from nowhere particular saying.

"Intruder alert!" Without thinking she lifted herself on the platform and crawled forward. As soon as she was through the doors they closed behind her but fortunately the light stayed on. Through the door someone was speaking.

"Where is the intruder? Search through very corner and don't forget the service slots!" The voice was very dark; darker than a human voice.

"What if he's already gone?" This time it was a female voice. "It's better to check the service slots." Melanie looked around her and realized that her bag was gone. However there was still her phone in her pocket. She heard quiet footstep at the other side of the door and she quickly moved to the other door. After a few meters behind the second door she heard the hiss of these strange doors and panic rose in her. Behind the second door was a third door and then another one. After this one was a narrow shaft. As fast as she could she climbed up the ladder and crawled into another slot. At the same time the door closed behind her she heard another one opening.

"Where is it?" The woman asked.

"Judging from the bag she left behind I think it's a girl but I suppose we've lost her." Another male voice said. The door hissed again and the two obviously left. She collapsed at the wall and tried to hold back the tears. When she realized that she was completely alone and not under threat anymore she felt dog tired. Before she fell asleep she crawled farther into the slot where she tried to get as comfortable as possible and finally fell asleep.

Hours later she woke up again and all of her body was aching. She moaned and stretched and got up as far as it was possible. In the first moments she didn't realized where she was but after a few more seconds she remembered the events of the previous day. There was a door behind her and in front of her. She wasn't really sure which one lead to the shaft so she tried the one to the right. Instead of the shaft she discovered a lose panel. It was hardly secured to the wall and easy to break out. Behind it was a pretty wide space with rectangle tiles and the tiles were separated by beams. Suddenly she heard a voice from underneath the piles.

"Have you already found the intruder?" It was an unfamiliar but female voice.

"No we haven't but she lost her bag, Dr." The gap between the slot and the tiles was tiny. It was just big enough for her shoulders to fit through but she didn't dare to try because she didn't want to make any noise.

"Do you think there is anything dangerous in there?" The doctor asked.

"I don't think so. The tricoder scanned no radioactive or explosive material. We can open it." A very strange sound appeared in the room with the two women but Melanie couldn't figure out what it was. She didn't even have the slightest idea how to describe it.

"There is a picture of her. It's her ID card. See!" This was the voice of the doctor. Melanie could hear another chirp.

"Yar to security. We have a picture. Program the computer for facial recognition." She stayed were she was and listened to the two women's conversation.

Soon later they left the room and everything was silent. She waited thirty minutes before she dared to squeeze herself through the hole. When she was done she felt incredibly thirsty. One of the tiles gave way a little when put pressure on but not much. In each corner was a little screw not more than a few millimeters in diameter. She got her pocket knife out of her pants pocket and opened the screw driver. It was amazing to see how easy the old screw driver fitted into the screw. The screws weren't very long either and it wasn't hard to remove them. With the knife she slowly lifted the tile to see.

The room underneath the tile was furnished like a futuristic apartment and about two and a half meters high. With all her caution she put her leg through the hole and then her hips and finally her whole body. The floor underneath was just a meter away from her feet and she jumped. As soon as she landed she remembered the intruder alert one of the women spoke of. She covered her mouth with her scarf and looked around. Apparently she was in a living room where a couple of doors led to other rooms. Most of them were open.

She went through the bedroom and found something that looked like a bathroom. The door was open and she entered. After a while she had figured out how to use the toilette and the shower. The water coming out of the shower was drinkable and she satisfied her thirst. There was no food in the apartment whatsoever and finally after a long search she decided to stay hungry.

When she walked passed what seemed like the entrance door a loud bell started ringing and the light changed to red. The intruder alert she thought and rushed back to the spot where she had entered the apartment. She pulled a chair under the hole climbed on it and pulled herself back in the ceiling. After that she quickly made her way through the small gap and put the panel back in place. Through the closing gap she could hear voices both male and female coming from the apartment but she couldn't understand what they were saying. As quietly as possible she crawled down the gangway to another shaft. Her heart was still pumping really fast and it only slowed down when she was far away from the lose panel and the apartment.

Unfortunately her stomach wasn't happy after a day without food and the sudden adrenalin rush and it started rumbling. It was so loud that she almost feared someone could hear it. In her mind there was a battle between the wish to eat something and the fear of getting caught. Finally her hunger succeeded and she started searching for a door to a main corridor. She had no idea how late it was but the corridor she finally reached was deserted and the light was dimmed. Before she turned around the next corner she pressed herself against the wall and carefully looked around the edge. In the next corridor she saw a woman with extremely curly hair coming through a door, maybe her apartment.

The women walked away from her down the corridor to another door. It opened and she entered a tiny room more like a broom chamber. Melanie turned around the corner and headed for the door the other woman had left. It wasn't locked and behaved like the doors in a shopping center. The apartment she was standing in was even bigger than the one she had already entered. At first sight she didn't see anything that looked like a kitchen or anything eatable. However what amazed her most was the view from the window. It kind of looked like the windows screen saver. Stars were drifting by the window. She went to the room on the left but it wasn't a kitchen. Instead she was standing in the woman's bedroom. The bed was huge and looked very comfortable. She sat down on it and the mattress adapted the shape of her body.

After a while she was laying completely on the bed and very close to sleep. The hiss of the main door let her leap off the bed and she stood against the wall so she couldn't be seen from the entrance.

"Is there someone?" The voice was female but unfamiliar. She didn't say anything. "I can sense your presence." Now or never she thought, opened her pocket knife and stepped in the other room. The other woman turned around when she heard the sound of the knife and stretched her hands to the sides.

"Put down the knife please!" Melanie just shook her head. The woman pushed a button on her shirt. "Security to my quarters. She's here." Melanie stepped closer to her and reached out with her knife.

"Call them back and I won't want to harm you." The woman was very calm for the situation and she tried to grab the knife.

"No!" Melanie screamed and cut into the hand of the woman. The cut wasn't too deep but it started bleeding a second later. The woman reached for button on her chest again and Melanie moved quicker than she though was possible. She touched the neck of the woman with the tip of her knife.

"Don't move!" Melanie could clearly see that her opponent was starting to panic. The door behind them opened and she quickly turned around just to see three people in strange yellow suits entering the room.

"Get away from the counsellor!" The only woman in the team screamed. Her voice was very familiar to Melanie. She moved around the counsellor and pushed the knife closer to the woman's neck.

"No! Leave me alone!" The knife pushed harder into the skin and a little drop of blood found its way down the knife. One of the men in the yellow suits pointed a strange instrument in her direction and pulled the trigger. A stream of light coming from the instrument hit Melanie's body right under her arm and she collapsed. The pain came when she touched the floor. She dropped the knife and screamed. Another stream hit her and she lost her conscience.

"...almost dislocated joint. What have you done with her?" This voice was the doctor's voice which she had heard in the apartment through the ceiling.

"I can tolerate the two bruises here and here but what is with the rest of her injuries?" She slowly opened her eyes and stared in a bright white light.

"I'm sorry doctor. I don't know about any other injuries. Whatever it is it's not our fault." She tries to lift her hand but it was blocked by a strange force that prevented her from moving her arm any farther than about ten centimeters away from her body. The force made her hand burn and she quickly moved it back.

"Wait, she's moving." The doctor said and a moment later Melanie felt a sharp pain and she felt dizzy again.

She woke up from a heavy headache. Her head felt like twice the size from normal but when she lifted her hand to reach for her head she noticed that she wasn't restrained anymore. She waited a few minutes and finally it started disappearing. Everything had changed. Instead of the jeans and sweatshirt she was now wearing something like a jersey jumpsuit with no pockets. When she realized that she panicky started looking for her phone and her knife. However both of them were gone. She got up and looked around.

The room she was in was rather tiny but it was equipped with a bed and a tiny bathroom. Behind the room was another one with a huge desk. She wanted to walk to the desk but there was another force field between the two rooms and she bumped into it. There was no other exit to the room she was in and the conclusion that she was in prison finally settled. After a while she noticed a plate with food in one corner of her cell. It wasn't very fancy but she was so hungry she ate everything.

When she was finished she heard the hiss of the doors and a woman entered. Melanie not only recognized her because of her yellow suit but also because of her face and voice and the she spoke to her.

"You are aboard the USS Enterprise and you will be under surveillance until your charges are complete. We have locked you up because you were a threat to ships security." Melanie put her plate to the side and came close to the force field. The hair on her arms stood up because of the electric current.

"What is the USS Enterprise? It's a ship? Where exactly am I?" The face of the woman didn't change but her next question confused her a little.

"What year are you born?"

"1996!" The woman raised an eyebrow and she got something out of her pocket.

"Is this you ID card?" Melanie stepped a little closer and saw her picture on the little plastic card.

"Yes this is mine. Can I have my phone and my knife back?" The woman shook her head.

"No you can't. Star fleet regulations don't allow any personal objects in the brig."

"The brig? Star fleet? What is all this?" A few seconds later the face of the woman relaxed a bit because she noticed that Melanie had no clue whatsoever what was going on.

"I will send you someone who knows a bit more about your century than I do." The woman turned around and wanted to leave the room but Melanie pressed herself against the force field ignoring the burns.

"Wait! My century? What do you mean with that?"

"I told you. Someone will explain it to you." With these words she left the room and the doors closed behind her.

Melanie was left in raging anger. She threw herself against the field and the whole side of her body was burning. The pain eased up a bit of the anger but it wasn't really helping in the end. Finally the whole situation seemed to overwhelm her and the first tears started flowing down her cheeks. She sat on the bed pulled her knees to her chest and cried into the strange fabric of her pants. When her tears were fading she got up and again stood in front of the field. She reached out her hand and touched it. The pain took a bit of her mental pain and she tried it again. This time she leaned against the field with her whole back and the field burned itself through her clothes onto her skin. The fire on her back distracted her from almost everything. The wound heated up and she could feel fluid dripping down her back.

After a while the pain made her knees collapsed and she fell against the field again. The second time was even more painful than the first time and she screamed. Her knees gave way completely and she fell on the floor. There she concentrated on breathing in and out. The part of injured skin which touched the floor burned even harder than the rest of her back. Just when she thought her back had cooled down the door opened again but she didn't dare to move. Melanie couldn't see the person entering but she could hear two people inhaling.

"Data deactivate the force field, now!" Melanie recognized the voice of the doctor. She bent down to her and turned Melanie's head around.

"Can you hear me?" She squeezed out a silent "yes".

"What have you done with your skin?" The doctor repaired her skin with a strange instrument but it was incredibly painful. Therefore instead of answering her she let out a scream and tried to crawl away from the doctor.

"Stay where you are or I'll have you restrained." The instrument reached her neck and the burns slowly disappeared.

"Tell me what have you done to your back?" The doctor helped her stand up and sit on the bed.

"I leaned against the force field. Can you tell me what's going on?" The doctor removed a small blinking object from her instrument and held it in front of her. She didn't answer her but only stared at her instrument in concern.

"Please tell me what happened. Where am I?"

"Stay, don't move!" Now she also noticed the other person entering with the doctor. He was a strange looking man also in a yellow suit while the doctor was wearing a blue one. The man had unhealthy pale skin and yellow eyes. Even the skin had through its paleness a yellow touch.

"Lie down on the bed and stay still or I'll put a force field around you. You can lie on your back. It's now fully recovered." She got up and Melanie stretched out in front of her. There was something strange in this situation. Again the doctor moved the blinking object up and down her body staring at her other instrument.

"Your feet have recovered and your inner organs are working fine again?" Melanie wanted to support herself on her elbows but the doctor pushed her back.

"Are you saying I'm sick?" The doctor shook her head.

"You were sick. Your right foot was infected and the joints were not ok. Furthermore you were carrying various diseases in your system but the symptoms haven't developed yet." She put the object back in its holding and shut her instrument. After that she stepped into the other section of the room and the force field in the middle was activated. Melanie got up and asked again.

"Please tell me what's happening! Nobody wants to say a word." Instead of the woman the man spoke and also his voice and way of speaking was strange.

"In your time it's the year 2364. You are aboard the USS Enterprise, galaxy class star ship." Her jaw dropped almost to the floor.

"A space ship? Are you kidding me? It can't be the year 2364. This is 350 years too far!" The man showed no emotions and continued explaining.

"You have travelled 350 years in time." She shook her head violently.

"It can't be. My friends. What about them?" The man wanted to speak again but the doctor stopped him.

"See Melanie, I don't want to give you any false hope. You can't go back." She opened a slot near the force field.

"Computer, delta zero ten, authorization crusher." A glass with a clear liquid appeared on the tray. She pushed through a channel and it appeared in Melanie's cell.

"This is a sedative to make you sleep. And you need to sleep. Data will ask you some questions tomorrow." The two of them turned to the door but Melanie had one last question.

"What about the trial?" The man turned back to her and answered. "The captain will decide but it's the counsellor's choice of reporting your actions." She took the glass and walked back to the bed. Maybe it was a rather good decision to go to sleep and she drank the clear liquid. Her eyes grew heavy and she just had the energy to put the glass away and crawl under the blanket. A moment later she was fast asleep.

**There are a few more chapters coming, so please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**It's moving on. In this chapter Melanie finds there are not only strange people around her and her situation is going to be settled.**

The next morning she woke up, the first time after ages without any pain. After a refreshing bathroom trip she saw a plate with breakfast on the tray of the channel where she had received the sedative. She ate the bread and the egg and drank the coffee but left the strange looking mash behind. After she finished she put the plate back on the tray and sat on the bed and then she waited. Only a few minutes later the door opened and the strange man with the yellow eyes entered.

"Good morning Melanie. Did you have a good night?" She nodded but she was too fascinated by his odd appearance to speak.

"Lt. Yar agreed to an interrogation but she wants to be present. Furthermore you have to be shackled. Do you agree as well?" All she wanted now was answers and she couldn't imagine anything worse than the situation she was in now.

"Yeah, why not?" The man pressed his button on his shirt. "Lt. Comdr. Data to Lt. Yar. Miss Kampen has agreed to the interrogation." From somewhere came a voice.

"Alright Data. I'll come. Don't deactivate the force field until I'm there." The man quickly moved around the desk and pushed a few buttons.

"Please sit on the bed. I will replicate a chair in your cell." Instead of questioning she sat again down on the bed and moved her legs to her chest. A blue rain fell in the cell and moments later a metal chair appeared.

"It is Lt. Yar's order for you to sit on the chair." As soon as she placed herself on the cold metal surface strange metal handcuffs wrapped around her wrists. The chain on both sides was about twenty centimeters long and seemed to be very fragile but when she pulled it didn't gave way a tiny bit. Two minutes later the door opened again and the woman with the yellow suit entered. She was armed because Melanie noticed the weapon like thing on the belt of the woman.

"Hello Miss Kampen. My name is Lt. Tasha Yar. I'm head of security aboard this ship. I will supervise the interrogation." The man deactivated the force field and materialized another chair across from her. He sat down neatly with his hands on his thighs and an unnatural straight back.

"At first I want to ask you some questions." He said. "Do you remember anything that has happened before you woke up on the Enterprise?"

"Yes I do. I was in the cellar looking for my suitcase and there was something very odd. I don't know what it was but it somehow transported me here."

"Please tell me more about the place where you were and under what circumstances did you have to visit the cellar?"

"That was the cellar of my boarding school. I had to go there because I needed my suitcase. It was the last day of school." The woman stepped a few steps closer.

"What exactly is a boarding school?" Instead of Melanie the man answered.

"The boarding school dates back very early in the 19th century but the school Miss Kampen is talking about was established in Great Britain in the early 20th century. Most of the schools were closed with the Third World War." Melanie's eyes widened and she opened her mouth in fear.

"What do you mean Third World War?" Data turned away from the woman and faced her.

"Before the first contact 2061 earth almost broke down in poverty and war so the early superpowers started a war which killed 600 million of earth's citizens. After the war the planet was in a nuclear winter." She wanted to cover her mouth with her hands but the chains blocked them.

"When did the war start?" She whispered.

"2026." This time the woman answered.

"That's 14 years from now!" It wasn't accurate but in this moment she didn't care.

"So you are saying that you found the way to the Enterprise in the year 2012?" She nodded. After the information about her planet she felt unable to speak. It took her almost a minute to regain her voice.

"Can I ask you a question as well?"

"Certainly you can."

"What are you? I suppose you're not human." The man shook his head.

"No I am not. I am an android." The answer didn't answer any of her questions.

"What in earth is an android? I always had Apple." Both the man and the woman looked as confused as her. Obviously the meaning of an android was different than she thought.

"Never mind." They still looked confused but the man answered her question.

"I am certainly not an apple. An android is a computer. I am what you would call a machine."

"You're a robot." She stated.

"No I am an android. A robot is primitive." She looked on the ground and bit her lip.

"Please tell what you did when you appeared on the Enterprise." Melanie looked at the woman not sure if she wanted her to hear everything she did but finally she decided to do so.

"Well, I woke up in this cargo hall." She told them all about her trip through the service slots. When she told them what she heard through the ceiling and how she entered the first apartment the woman's jaw dropped. She also told them about the fear and the confusion she had felt the last couple of days. After she finished the man stood up and his chair disappeared.

"I will free you from the handcuffs now. Do not move." The woman pulled her weapon and held it in her direction while the man made her handcuffs disappear. The two of them stepped into the other section of the room and the force field activated.

"Please stand up. I will dissolve your chair." The man said and a few seconds later the chair indeed disappeared. Before they left the woman turned to Melanie.

"I'll visit you tonight when I know when the captain will hold the trial." The door closed behind them and the room felt in total silence. She soon was bored and touched the force field. This time it didn't burn but it felt somehow weaker. It still made her skin tingle but the sensation was uninteresting after a while. Instead she went back to the bed and stretched her hips. The tendons in her thighs were more resistant than they used to be and she couldn't bend into a proper split. The hours went on and she tried to kill the time with her ballet routines and stretching but after just two hours she was so exhausted that she had to take a nap. When she woke up from it the woman in the yellow suit wasn't there. Instead she went through a second set of routines. Just as she tackled the proper split the door opened and the security lady and the doctor entered. The expression on the doctor's face changed as soon as she saw what Melanie did.

"Get up!" She yelled and pulled out her strange instrument. "Sit down on the bed and don't move." The other woman deactivated the force field and the doctor entered her cell. She moved the blinking thing up and down Melanie's legs as soon as she sat down.

"Your thigh tendons are strained again. If you do this again I'll restrain you to your bed and only let you move under supervision." She wasn't joking. Instead she went back to the other woman and the force field activated.

"Your trial is tomorrow. The ship's lawyer will help you and you will meet her tomorrow morning. I have to warn you. She's more than competent but she looks very young." The security lady said.

"Do you have any questions?" Melanie shook her head. The doctor opened the strange tray at the wall and some food appeared.

"Good eating and eat up. You need it." They left and Melanie concentrated on her food. She got pizza, at least it looked like pizza but in a little bowl in on corner of the plate was a pill. Perhaps a sleeping pill. Whatever it was she was fast asleep only five minutes later.

The next day Melanie woke up with a nervous feeling in her stomach. A plate with breakfast was placed in her cell, this time without the grey mash and with more of the other stuff. She didn't feel very hungry and only ate half of it. She just put the rest of the food on the tray and waited for her lawyer. The time went on slowly and she lied back on the bed to get a bit more sleep. Just as she slowly shifted into the dream world the hiss of the doors opening awakes her and she sat up. The security lady was there again but this time accompanied by a very young woman. She looked only a few years older than Melanie and she was somehow familiar to her. The woman herself obviously recognized her as well.

"Melanie?" Suddenly she remembered her.

"Kathi!" She leaped up from the bed and bumped into the force field.

"Deactivate the force field Lt." The young woman said but the other one shook her head.

"She has to be tied up." The two women stared at each other but the security lady didn't surrender. She turned to Melanie.

"Put your hands behind your back. I'll give you handcuffs. This should be enough." A strange sound appeared and Melanie felt cold metal around her wrists. After that the force field dropped and her old friend from school entered her cell. Katharina threw her arm around her and pulled her to her chest.

"I've seen you disappear but I never thought I would see you again." She turned to Lt Yar and glared at her.

"I can assure you that she isn't dangerous usually. I've known Melanie since I was 14. The handcuffs are not necessary." Lt. Yar's face stayed solid.

"She threatened Counselor Troi with a knife." Now Katharina completely let go of Melanie and stepped towards Lt. Yar.

"Because she was scared and confused. Waking up in a strange place all alone can be a pretty terrifying situation."

"However, this does not excuse her actions." Katharina rolled with her eyes and sighed.

"This is not the place to discuss this. At first I have to talk to Melanie." Lt. Yar nodded and stood at the wall. Meanwhile Katharina guided Melanie to her bed and they both sat down.

"Kathi, what's going on?" She pulled on knee to her chest and answered her friend.

"The situation looks like this. You are charged with attempted grievous bodily harm and the captain will supervise your hearing this afternoon. I've spoken to Deanna and she can understand your reaction."

"Who is Deanna? Is she the woman I, well, attacked?" Melanie interrupted her but Katharina nodded.

"She won't pledge against you but that doesn't mean you will get away with it. I recommend you say the truth but leave the debating to me." Melanie bit her lip and stared at the floor.

"Kathi, I'm scared." Katharina laid a hand on her shoulder and smiled sadly.

"You don't have to be. Nothing can go wrong. The worst thing possible is you having to stay under supervision for a couple of days." A little tear rolled down Melanie's cheek. Katharina bended forward and brushed away the tear. The gesture had something loving. Something Melanie had missed a lot.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Do you want to know anything else?" Melanie shook her head.

"Ok, the Captain will await you in half an hour in the observation lounge. Come on get yourself clean and please brush your hair." Katharina got up and went over to the security lady and the force field reappeared. Melanie's handcuffs disappeared and she rubbed her wrists. As quickly as she could she made a human out of herself and within a few minutes she was finished.

"Cmdr. Meunier has asked me to let you walk freely. I can only accept it if she vouches for you. Do you agree?" She was so flashed that she nodded without thinking. The force field deactivated again and Melanie stepped for the first time into the other section of the room. Katharina laid one hand on her shoulder. For the first time she was taller than her and it felt somehow strange. In total silence the three women left the room and stepped on the corridor. It was much like the one she had already been in. They headed for the end of the corridor to a tiny room. This one looked exactly like the one the counsellor had gone in.

"Deck 2." The security lady said and the doors closed. The chamber started moving upwards. It was obviously an elevator. It stopped just a few seconds later and the doors opened. The next corridor distinguished only a little from the one before. Katharina gently guided her to a door on the left. The observation lounge was simply breathtaking. Behind the window was the same star background like she had seen before. In the middle of the room was a long table with about a dozen comfortable looking chairs around. A few of these chairs were occupied. Melanie recognized the woman with the curly hair who she had attacked and she stared at the floor. There were also two strange men and a very scary looking man with a definitely non-human face as well as the android who had interrogated her. Katharina pulled back a chair for Melanie to sit and placed herself in the one next to it.

"Well Melanie, I'm Captain Jean Luc Picard of the Enterprise." The older man said, "And this is my first officer Comdr. Riker. We have to discuss what has happened between you and Counsellor Troi. Do you want to tell us what happened?" She started talking and told them everything. When she was finished the captain looked very concerned.

"You do understand that you have to be punished although I can understand why you did it." She nodded. Suddenly the woman with the curly hair raised her voice.

"Captain, I suggest Melanie comes to me for treatment. Maybe we can find a solution without a real punishment." Melanie shyly lifted her head to catch a glimpse of the woman and there was no anger in her expression. It was just pity.

"If I may say something." It came from the security lady. "According to star fleet regulations an incident like this has to be punished and reported. I also think that Miss Kampen's behavior was unacceptable no matter in what situation she was." Next to Melanie Katharina closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"What if I took full responsibility for Melanie and everything she does from now on? I swear by my rank that she won't cause any further trouble." All the heads instantly turned to her.

"I'm very fond of your idea Cmdr. Meunier but Lt. Yar is also right. I think the best for all of you is that Melanie talks to Counsellor Troi and they discuss this issue and Melanie, you will work in ten forward. This is the best place to get to know the crew and our culture. Rina can be your guardian. I don't have a problem with that. And since you've already spent three days in the brig I find another stay there is not necessary." Everyone accept for Lt. Yar was happy with the decision.

"Thank you." Melanie smiled in relief.

"But if you cause any trouble in the future you will face serious consequences." Her smile weakened a bit but she nodded bravely. They all got up and Katharina put her arm around Melanie's shoulder. But before they could leave the room Dr. Crusher called them back.

"Melanie, wait! I have to run some tests on you. Follow me to sick bay please." Katharina let go of her and nodded to assure her everything was alright. Dr. Crusher left the room quickly and she followed her a few steps behind. Although she had already seen sickbay before she now captured more details and found it even more amazing than the first time. The few patience and nurses present looked at Melanie curiously.

"Lie down on that bed get there." Dr. Crusher said and pointed to a strange looking bed on the wall. She went through the room and came back holding one of these strange instruments Melanie had seen before. Melanie was way too astonished to move and when Dr. Crusher was standing in front of her again she flinched.

"Move! " She said but in a friendly tone. Melanie climbed on the bed and lied down. The doctor removed the blinking object from the instrument and moved it up and down her body. She on the other hand was bursting with curiosity.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm checking your body functions. This is a tricoder. I can scan your body temperature and blood for example. In your case everything's alright now but your joints mustn't be put under pressure. You can go." She sat up and swung her legs off the bed.

"I don't know where to go now." The doctor put the instrument on a small table and pushed this strange button on her shirt.

"Dr. Crusher to Cmdr. Meunier. Please report to sickbay." Melanie pulled her legs into a tailor's seat but Dr. Crusher puller her ankles down.

"That's exactly what I meant when I told you to be careful with your joints. Wait, I'll put a transponder in your leg that will read your movements over the next week and if I see you doing this again, I'll put your legs in braces." Melanie bit her lip and followed the gentle hand of the doctor laying her down again. She got another instrument from somewhere and Melanie felt a small but sharp pain in her left calve, but a moment later the pain was already gone. The doors to sickbay opened and Katharina entered. She looked around and when she found Melanie her mood brightened.

"Hey Melli, how are you doing?" Dr. Crusher stepped in front of Melanie and put her hands in her pockets.

"Cmdr., she needs to rest and she must be careful with her joints. I've put a transponder in her leg and she has to report back here in a week." Katharina nodded and Melanie jumped off the bed. Both of them left sickbay and they headed the lift at the end of the corridor.

"Melanie, I have to tell you something." Melanie looked up into her friends eyes. "Yes?"

"I have a boyfriend and you've already met him. He's the android who interrogated you." Her eyes widened in astonishment.

"This is your boyfriend? Awesome. But tell me, he said it's the year 2364. How can you still be alive?" She could clearly see that Katharina was not comfortable with the situation at all.

"There is something else I already should have told you when we went to school." She stopped and looked around to see that they were alone. "I'm, well, not human." Melanie was less impressed than she should have been.

"So, what are you then?" She smiled and revealed her teeth.

"I'm a vampire!" Melanie's jaw dropped.

"You're joking. A vampire? That explains a lot." She thought of the unusual pale skin, even as a teenager, and Katharina's constant sunburns.

"Are you still ok with living with me?" Katharina was quite concerned now, but Melanie shrugged her shoulders.

"Of course I am. I mean, what in earth should you do. The rest of the people here live with it just well." A bright smile appeared on her friends face. She wrapped one arm around Melanie's shoulder and guided her down the corridor to the elevator.

"I should teach you the words for all the things around here. I'm pretty sure you don't know them." Melanie glared at her.

"I know something. This is an elevator."

"No it's not. We call it a turbo lift." She narrowed her eyes even more and growled. The turbo lift suddenly stopped and the doors opened. Again, the corridor behind it looked similar to every corridor she had seen. At one point Katharina suddenly turned left and the doors to a small apartment opened.

"These are my quarters. For now you can have my bed. I don't need it." She went to another room and came back with knee-length shirt.

"You can wear this. Tomorrow I can replicate something for you to wear but for the moment this will do. Are you hungry?" Melanie nodded. Her friend went to a slot in the wall and pushed a button. "A sandwich with cheese." A second later she was holding a plate with a sandwich on it.

"That's amazing. How did you do it?" Melanie took the plate from Katharina and sat down on the sofa in the middle of the living room.

"This is a replicator. You can make food or clothing with it. We don't have kitchens anymore." Melanie took a huge bite of her sandwich and it was amazing, even of the best she'd ever had.

"That's why I didn't find any food or drink in any of the apartments I was in." Katharina smiled her indulgent smile and Melanie knew what was coming.

"It's quarters, not apartment. We're on a military-like vessel." She sighed and finished her food.

"Is there anything else you need before you go to bed?" She shook her head and yawned. Her friend guided her to her bedroom and showed her a place to put her clothes.

"Have a good night. Tomorrow I'll take you to ten forward. Don't worry, everyone's very nice." Melanie was asleep as soon as she touched the sheets. Strangely this bed was much more comfortable than the one in the brig.

**There will be at least one more chapter and I hope I can update soon. In the meantime please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**This is the final chapter, but this is not the end of the story. For those who want more check out "Magic". Melanie will appear in this story in the later chapters.**

The next morning she woke up when someone shook her shoulder.

"Wake up, Melli, it's 7:30!" She crawled back under the covers and tried to ignore her friend, but Katharina didn't give up.

"Kathi, it's way too early." Katharina pulled the covers off the bed and turned on the light.

"I'll make you some breakfast." Melanie slowly crawled out of the bed and tried to stand up right. After a few moments she felt confident to walk. When she came into the living room Katharina was busy reading something on what seemed like a tablet.

"Your breakfast is on the table. Dr. Crusher told me you need to eat more." Melanie raised her brows.

"I need to eat more? I thought I was eating way too much, but thank you." On the table was a plate with fried egg and toast and some fruit. The food was so delicious that she didn't even think about not eating everything.

"When are we going to the ten forward? And by the way what is it anyway?" Katharina put away her tablet and sat on the chair across from Melanie.

"Well, at first, ten forward is a bar. It's called ten forward, because it's on deck ten and right on the front of the ship. We're going as soon as you have finished." She brushed the last pieces of food together and ate them.

"Are you nervous?" Katharina asked and pulled a single hair out of Melanie's shirt. She just shook her head and got up. Again they walked down the corridor and entered the turbo lift. The corridor they arrived in was again strangely similar to the other two she'd already seen. However, this time there was a wooden door at the end. At least it looked like wood. When they walked through the doors Melanie's jaw dropped and she stopped walking.

The room was actually a little small for a bar, but what really caught the attention was the huge window at one side of the room. It covered the entire length of the wall and was almost its height. What was behind the window looked like a clear star sky at night, but the stars were moving towards her. It looked truly amazing.

"Melanie!" She turned around and moved to the centre of the room. "Melli, this is Andrew; he tends the bar and he'll be supervising you." She smiled as well as she could and offered her hand. Andrew was a young man, around 25, with curly brown hair and a friendly face.

"Hello, you must be Melanie. I've heard that you'll be working with me now."

"Yes," she answered quietly. She was too overwhelmed by the view to get out any other answer. Katharina hugged her and stroked her arm.

"You'll do fine. I'll come and fetch you in a couple of hours." She went through the door and vanished.

"Please tell me, are you really from the 21st century? I only heard rumours." She finally turned her attention away from the window and gave him a puzzled look.

"Ehm, yes, but I don't understand anything, so I'm not a great help." He wasn't happy with her answer; that was clear.

"Well then, let's start with the simple things. Do you know how to operate a replicator?" She shook her head. He did a great job in hiding his astonishment, but she noticed it.

"It's very easy. You just say what you want. Let me show you." He stepped up to one of the slots in the wall and raised his voice.

"Hot chocolate!" A blue shower appeared in the slot and suddenly a cup with hot chocolate was standing in the slot.

"Wow, can this thing make everything?" Andrew laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, almost. There are some very exotic drinks and dishes which are not programmed, but there is everything from earth."

"Coca Cola!" A glass with the familiar brown fizzy liquid appeared. "I can't believe it!" Andrew smiled and he guided her back to the bar.

"Your job is it to take the orders of the guests here at the tables and bring it to them." Her first thought was that it was pretty lazy to employ someone to bring drinks across the room, but she didn't say anything.

"Is there anything I have to think of?" He was close to shaking his head, but he remembered that she didn't know anything about other species.

"There are not only humans on board, so I suggest you keep straight and polite. You'll figure out soon how everyone ticks." He smiled and pointed to a table where two women had just been sitting down.

"Try these two. I know them and they're very friendly." She courageously walked across the room to the women and smiled as well as she could. However, it wasn't very good.

"Hi, what do you want to drink?" Both of them turned their heads simultaneously.

"Hi, you must be Melanie," the older woman said and turned in her seat to face Melanie properly.

"Yes, I am. How do you know?"

"There was a lot of talking, because you will believe this doesn't happen every day," the other one said and smiled, too, "Are you working in ten forward now?" She nodded and her smile grew a bit wider.

"Well, could you bring us two Candorian milkshakes, please?" Melanie nodded again and headed for the replicator.

"Two Candorian milkshakes." Only moments later two glasses with a caramel coloured thick liquid appeared. She grabbed them and walked over to the women.

"Oh thank you," the first woman said when she placed the drinks on the table. Shortly after two women three boys entered the bar and sat down at another table. The three of them seemed to be not older than her, but there was something about the guy in the grey shirt with the short brown hair that amazed her.

"Hi, what do you want to drink?" The two boys who came with the boy in the grey shirt weren't as fascinating as he was. The way he smiled at her had something mesmerising and it was obvious that he was affected by her as well.

"I'll have a strawberry smoothie," one of the other boys said.

"Yeah, and for me the same please." The guy in the grey shirt was still looking at her and didn't say anything.

"Wes, what do you want?" He quickly shook his head and focused his eyes on the table in front of him.

"Could you get me something you like?" She looked at him a bit confused but she just shrugged her shoulders.

"Sure I can." A few minutes later she came back with the two smoothies and a glass of coke.

"What is this?" the boy asked and inspected the brown liquid.

"This is coca cola. It's a soft drink I really like." The boy took a sip and his face showed much dislike.

"This is tasty." She had to chuckle.

"Yeah, I see that." The two other boys were both shaking their heads. She went back to the bar, because she thought staying any longer in the boy's presence would distract her from her tasks. The boy spent the next hour watching her as she tried to act like a decent waitress, but she tried to avoid making any eye contact. In the end she was kind of glad that he left, but it felt really weird.

A few hours later Melanie felt someone touching her shoulder and she turned around.

"Hey, I was thinking about you all day, so I thought I meet you here again." She almost jumped in surprise.

"Hi, gosh you surprised me. What's your name?" The boy smiled and sat down on a stool at the bar.

"I'm Wesley Crusher and who are you?"

"Crusher? Are you related to the doctor? Oh, I'm Melanie Kampen. Nice to meet you." The two of them shook hands. The touch of his skin triggered something deep inside her which she wasn't aware of until now.

"What do you think about having a drink together?" She couldn't resist a giant smile.

"That would be awesome. How about tomorrow? I have to get settled a bit first and I have to spend at least more time in a real bed than in the brig." Wesley didn't quite understand what she was talking about, but he also didn't ask her.

"Well, it's settled then, tomorrow after duty. I'll fetch you here," he said and stroked the back of her hand. She smiled, but turned away quickly.

"I have to go home. Cmdr. Meunier will fetch me soon." He felt that she wasn't comfortable and he got his hands off the table.

"See you tomorrow, Melanie."

"See you!" She stretched out her hand but he had already turned away. He went through the doors and left. Suddenly she wished the time until she could see him again just skipped.

**This was it, but don't forget to check out "Magic" and don't forget to leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4 One-shot

**The alternative story is over, but I still have some one-shots about Wesley and Melanie. They will reach far into the future, so you'll learn a lot about them. If you want more contexts check out "Magic" by Rina Meunier.**

She silently tiptoed down the corridor to her friend's quarters. Katharina's shift was almost over and she would be home in just a few minutes. Melanie definitely wanted to be at home before her. Her date had been brilliant. They had gone out to ten forward after she had finished her shift. They had talked about almost everything, but in the end Wesley had organized some booze and now she was drunk. Not really drunk, just enough to notice the alcohol. She reached the door and opened it. The loud hiss almost made her jump. When she entered the quarters she saw Data waiting for her. "Melanie, it is pretty late for you to go out and you are drunk." he said coming towards her.

"I'm not drunk. I just drank a few beers. Perhaps I'm tipsy but not drunk."

"Your blood alcohol level is 1.8 per mil. You are drunk." Melanie heard the door hissing again. "Who is drunk?" Katharina said with a confused face. Data turned to his girlfriend. "Melanie's blood alcohol level is about 1.8 per mil." he said.

"Melanie, is that true?" she asked almost yelling. Melanie knew that she couldn't lie to her friend and she told the truth. "I just drank a couple of beers nothing too dramatic."

"What did I tell you about drinking?" she asked and her slightly confused expression eventually turned into an angry face. Melanie tried to avoid eye contact with both of them. "Yeah you know, it actually wasn't planned. It was by accident..."

"You don't want to tell me that you got drunk by accident. Do you know what happened to me when I got drunk the last time?" Melanie just shook her head still not looking in Katharina's face. "I got pregnant, my boyfriend left me, I almost died and I was turned into a vampire. So don't tell me it was by accident."

"Yeah, but you wouldn't be here with your fancy android boyfriend." She knew that she just made a striking statement.

"Data, she doesn't mean it like that." Kathi said.

"You know she cannot hurt me, but I am a bit concerned if I am the right for you."

"Of course you are. And I told you that about a million times." Melanie took advantage of the situation and tried to sneak away to her room. "Melanie, come back. We're not done talking yet. You still have to tell me why you did this. I'm not happy with your answer."

"You won't be happy with any answer I give you."

"I think you wanted to try out what booze tastes like and you overdid it." Melanie almost shrunk under Kathi's gaze, but Kathi couldn't know that she absolutely right. "Ok, so it's exactly like I said. Melanie, I'm not a complete idiot in reading someone's facial expression. Say goodbye to your DVDs for a week and now go to bed. Data is right. It's very late and I don't want hear any tomorrow about you having headache. Have a good night."

**I know it's a very short one, but instead I will post a lot of them.**


	5. Chapter 5 One-shot

Although she was sure that she wasn't supposed to be on the bridge, Melanie sneaked as close as she could to the turbo lift to the bridge. She had found out that Wesley's shift was almost over and it would be the perfect time for his mother to argue with him. And she was right. A few minutes later she saw Dr. Crusher going through the corridor. Unfortunately she wasn't very amused to see Melanie. "Melanie what are you doing here?" Dr. Crusher asked and it seemed like she could explode every second.

"Er, I just wanted to see Wesley, dunno." The turbo lift hissed open and Wesley and Data came out having a conversation. Dr. Crusher changed her attention from Melanie to Wesley.

"Wesley Crusher, what were you think you were doing? Data, would you please leave us alone." Before Wesley could say a word Data nodded and walked away.

"What did you drink last night? There is no sense of lying to me. You'll get punished either way." Wesley stepped back and held up his hands in defensive position. "Mom, please calm down. It was nothing, I drank only a few beers and I feel really sorry for that."

"IT WAS NOTHING?! It's anything but not nothing and where did you get the alcohol from anyway? It's not only about you, young man! You should take some responsibility for others too." Melanie came into the sight of Wesley. Obviously he was very surprised to see her. "Melli? What are you doing here?" he asked laid his hand on her shoulder.

"I wanted to see you."

"Wesley, stop flirting. You still didn't answer my question." He was about to say something when Melanie cut of his words. "I found it in the bar. We have tried sythohol before, but this stuff is boring, so I told Wes were it was and he took it."

"I can't believe it. Do you have any idea how alcohol affects your body?" Wesley shrugged his shoulders but Melanie turned slightly red and nodded.

"How much did you drink last night?" Dr. Crusher said and pulled Wesley a few steps from the turbo lift.

"I don't know exactly. I think I drank as much as Melli."

"EXCUSE ME? HOW DARE YOU WORKING ON THE BRIDGE IN A CONDITION LIKE THAT?" she shouted at her son and pushed him against the wall.

"Please Dr. Crusher, it was my entire fault. Don't punish him," Melanie said and walked over to him. Dr. Crusher let go of her son and turned to her.

"Oh trust me, I will punish him. And you won't get away with it either! I THOUGHT YOU WOULD BEHAVE!" Melanie turned even redder and watched the ground.

"Back to you, young acting ensign Wesley Crusher. YOU ARE GROUNDED, FOREVER AND YOU MUSTN'T DATE THIS GIRL ANYMORE. SHE'S NOT THE RIGHT COMPANY FOR YOU!"

"But Mum, you can't."

"Please Dr. Crusher. Don't do this."

"DON'T YOU TALK BACK TO ME, BOTH OF YOU! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU TOGETHER AGAIN." Suddenly the turbo lift hissed open again and a man with a clean head went through it. "Dr. Crusher, is there a reason why you are yelling?"

"The reason is standing right in front of you, Captain Picard," she said and pointed towards Wesley and Melanie, "Wesley just got himself into trouble with alcohol, together with her." Picard turned towards Wesley and Melanie.

"How could you, Wesley? You know the law. And you, young lady, your condition was to not get into trouble." She nodded silently. "You know that you are not in Germany anymore. You're not allowed to drink alcohol until you're grown up."

"Will I have to go to the brig?" Picard slowly shocked his head.

"No, I don't think so. You're just a threat to yourself." He turned to Dr. Crusher and tried to get some space between Wesley and his mother.

"Dr. Crusher, do you think Wesley's able to work at the bridge?" Dr. Crusher shook her head.

"He needs to earn back his privileges to be treated like an adult. Besides, he's grounded; I don't know how long." Picard raised his eyebrow and looked at Wesley. Melanie on the other hand turned towards Dr. Crusher.

"I know that you're mad with Wesley and me, but please let us meet each other, please!" She came a step closer to Melanie and threatened her with her forefinger.

"Which part of NO TALKING BACK TO ME you don't understand?" she asked and Melanie pressed herself against the wall.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Crusher, but..." SLAP. Picard held back Dr. Crusher's hand before she could slap Melanie a second time.

"Go back to your quarters, Melanie," he said. She stood there frozen giving Dr. Crusher a flabbergasted gaze. "Wesley," she whispered and he hugged her gently.

"School, tomorrow," he whispered into her ear as quiet as possible so that the others couldn't hear it. She turned around and walked down the corridor. After a few corners she stood still and listened, but she could hear nothing. She had no intentions of going back to Katharina's quarters and therefore she made her way to Ten-Forward. There, she stayed for over an hour before she dared to join Kathi in her quarters.

**I changed a bit from the original and I recommend you check you "Magic" for more plot details.**


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